Taiwan's
military yesterday confirmed that it is seeking to buy 10
MH-60R Seahawk anti-submarine warfare helicopters from the
U.S. to replace its existing aging chopper fleet. Fielding
questions during an interpellation session at the Legislative
Yuan, Deputy Defense Minister Adm. Chen Yung-kang confirmed
to lawmakers that the R.O.C. Navy is scheduled to purchase
MH-60R Seahawk anti-submarine choppers.

Orbital
ATK announced yesterday, Oct. 28, that it has received an
award totaling $426 million for first article test and qualification
and production of FMU-139D/B fuzes and fuze accessories. The
contract, awarded by the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command, includes
qualification and first article testing activities. An initial
amount of $24 million from the Navy and U.S. Marine Corps
will be obligated at time of award.

Russia's
Bal-E coastal defense system to be equipped with upgraded Kh-35 missile

The
Bal coastal defense system will be equipped with an upgraded
version of the Kh-35E missile, Morinformsystem-Agat Group
CEO and General Designer Georgy Antsev told TASS on Tuesday.
Morinformsystem-Agat naval weapons developer is upgrading
the Bal coastal defense missile system. The system will receive
a modernized missile, which has a range of up to 300 kilometers
(186 miles) and can be guided via unmanned aerial vehicle
(UAV), he added.

Schiebel’s CAMCOPTER® S-100 Unmanned Air System
(UAS) continues its successful shipboard trials when demonstrating
its outstanding capabilities to the South African Navy from
20 to 23 October 2015 at False Bay, Western Cape, South Africa.

The
US-based aircraft manufacturer Boeing has been awarded a contract
worth US$898 million to procuce 15 more EA-18G Growler electronic
fighter jets and associated airborne electronic attack kits
for the U.S. Navy, the US DoD announced on Monday, Oct. 26,
2015.

Austal successfully launched first High Speed Support Vessel for the
RNO

Austal
has launched the first of two 72m High Speed Support Vessels
(HSSV’s) being built for the Royal Navy of Oman (RNO),
yesterday. Hull 390 - the future RNOV Al Mubshir - was successfully
launched after 13 months of construction and fitout at the
company’s Henderson, Western Australia shipyard.

During the Marine Week 2015 exhibition which was held October
20 - 23 in Busan, South Korea, Hanwha Thales unveiled for
the first time the Integrated Mast (I-MAST) system currently
in development for the future third batch FFX frigate of the
Republic of Korea Navy (ROK Navy).

On September 29 Indra presented the unmanned version
of its P2006T MRI maritime reconnaissance and
intelligence aircraft at the London conference
series on maritime reconnaissance. Indra's
General Manager of Defense and Security, José
Manuel Pérez-Pujazón, took advantage
of the multinational's participation in the conference
series to make the announcement. Indra adapted
the aircraft as part of its so-called "Targus"
project, and it has already passed the viability
tests and experimental demonstration.

The U.S. Navy awarded Raytheon Company a $159.9 million contract
to manufacture, inspect and test Phalanx Close-in Weapon Systems
(CIWS). The contract, which provides for a $10 million option
in FY15 and another valued at $291 million in FY16, includes
support equipment for the Phalanx and SeaRAM Weapon Systems,
Block 1B radar upgrades and kits for reliability, maintainability,
and availability. The contract also covers overhaul of four
Land-based Phalanx Weapon Systems.

Lockheed Martin Canada marked an important milestone toward
modernizing the Royal New Zealand Navy's two ANZAC Class ships.
The company announced that the ANZAC frigate systems upgrade
project has successfully completed the combat system critical
design review on schedule and to New Zealand's satisfaction.

Lockheed Martin Delivers First Danish MH-60R Romeo Helicopter to the
U.S. Navy

The U.S. Navy accepted the first MH-60R helicopter slated
for Denmark from Lockheed Martin in a ceremony today at the
Lockheed Martin facility in Owego, New York. "We are
excited to accept this aircraft bound for Denmark," said
Rear Adm. CJ Jaynes, program executive officer for air anti-submarine
warfare, assault and special mission programs, which oversees
the U.S. Navy's H-60 program office. " The Romeo is the
U.S. Navy's primary rotary anti-submarine...

Two
Final Project 12418 Tarantul-class Corvettes to Enter Service in Vietnam
in June 2016 - TASS

The Vietnamese Navy will receive two final Project 12418 Molniya-class
(NATO reporting name: Tarantul V) missile-carrying boats in
June 2016, a spokesman for Russia’s Vympel Shipyard
told TASS at the international exhibition Interpolitex-2015
on Thursday. The boats are being built in Vietnam under the
Russian license, the spokesman added.

ADIK
Shipyard launched the first ship of a new class of landing
ships (LST) TCG Bayraktar on 3rd October 2015. Her
construction started 17 months ago. The contract for the construction
of a new LST’s was signed between Turkey Ministry of
Defence and ADIK_Furtrans shipyard on 11 May 2011. The project
consists in a locally produced new generation fast amphibious
vessel of upper-intermediate size designed to meet operational
requirements of Turkish Naval Forces Command.

The U.S. Navy accepted delivery of the future USS Milwaukee
(LCS 5) during a ceremony at the Marinette Marine Corporation
shipyard Oct. 16. Milwaukee is the sixth littoral combat ship
to be delivered to the Navy and the third of the Freedom variant
to join the fleet.

According
to Russia's governmental procurement website, the 13th Shipyard
in Sevastopol is planning to complete the repair of the Project
877V Kilo-class B-871 Alrosa diesel-electric submarine in
2015. The repair and upgrade will enable the submarine to
operate with the Russian Navy Black Sea Fleet until 2020.
Then the boat will have to get back to the dock of the 13th
Shipyard again.

Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia May Order Four Multi-Mission Surface Combatant MMSC
Ships

The
Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced
via press release yesterday that the U.S. State
Department gave its green light for a proposed
sale to Saudi Arabia of four Multi-Mission Surface
Combatant (MMSC) Ships, an export variant of Lockheed
Martin's Freedom class LCS currently in use with
the U.S. Navy.

The
Yantar Shipyard in Kaliningrad building the Admiral Essen
frigate for the Russian Navy is completing the preparations
for its manufacturer’s trials and for putting it out
to sea in the Baltic for the first time, the shipyard’s
press officer, Sergei Mikhailov, told TASS on Tuesday.

USS
Ross (DDG 71), an Arleigh Burke Flight I class destroyer,
successfully intercepted a ballistic missile with a Raytheon-made
Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) in the North Atlantic Ocean during
the Maritime Theater Missile Defense (MTMD) Forum's At Sea
Demonstration (ASD) Oct. 20, 2015. This is first time a SM-3
Block IA guided interceptor was fired on a non-U.S. range
and the first intercept of a ballistic missile threat in the
European theater.

Russia’s
sole aircraft carrier, The Project 1143.5 aircraft carrier
Admiral Kuznetsov has started its combat training in the Barents
Sea in accordance with the schedule, Northern Fleet spokesman
Vadim Serga said on Monday.As
we reported in May, the flagship of the Russian navy went
into the dock of a shipyard in Northern Russia for repairs.

EURENCO
is proud to announce that it was awarded in 2015 an important
contract with European missile company MBDA for a key UK-French
program: the Sea Venom/Anti-Navire Leger (ANL) anti-ship missile.
EURENCO will industrialize and fill in its Sorgues plant the
new Insensitive Munition (IM) warhead with an insensitive
composition based on EURENCO's I-RDX ™. First deliveries
to MBDA will begin after qualification. EURENCO is already
the supplier of explosive fillings...

Russia is planning to supply the equipment and helicopters
for the Mistral amphibious assault ships that Egypt is buying
from France, and the value of the deal may exceed $1.12 billion,
Sergei Ivanov, the Russian president’s chief of staff,
told journalists on Monday.

Russian manufacturer Saturn, a subsidiary of the United Engine
Corporation, started manufacturing all-Russian propulsion
plants for the Project 22350 Admiral Gorshkov-class frigates,
a Saturn employee told TASS on Monday. "We have launched
the production of four M55R diesel/gas-turbine propulsion
plants to power the two in-construction Project 22350 frigates
serialed 923 and 924 (Admiral Golovko and Admiral Isakov respectively),"
the source said.

The
Hellenic Navy has inducted on 19 October a new fast attack
craft in its fleet. During a ceremony held at the Fast Attack
Crafts Command, at the Skaramagkas Naval Fort, attended by
the Minister of Defence, the Chiefs of Staffs, government
and foreign military officials, the Elefsis Shipyards –
BAE Systems "HS Ritsos" (P71), Super Vita-class
vessel, was delivered to the Navy.

DCNS Signs a Cooperation Agreement in Saudi Arabia with KACST for Naval
Research Centre

On
Tuesday 13 October in Riyadh, the President of the King Abdulaziz
City for Science and Technology (KACST), His Highness Dr Turki
bin Saud Mohamed Al Saud, in the presence of His Royal Highness
Prince Muhammad bin Salman and of the French Prime Minister,
Manuel Valls, signed a cooperation agreement with the Chairman
and CEO of DCNS, Hervé Guillou. The goal of this agreement
is to foster the development of a Research and Development
centre dedicated to the naval and maritime domain.

French Shipyard CMN to Build a Brand New Shipyard Facility in Cherbourg
Normandy

French
shipyard CMN unveiled its plans to build a brand new shipyard
in Cherbourg, Normandy (Western France). CMN has been working
on the project for almost a year with the objective to develop
a modern facility right on the quayside. The new project focuses
on four key points: Human factors, Environmental excellence,
Improved industrial organization and Modernization of the
production tools.